1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to animal restraints, and more specifically to an animal leash apparatus and method of tying the leash.
2. Background of the Invention and Related Art
Animal leashes, and in particular leashes used for almost all breeds of canines are generally well known and in widespread use. Animal restraints used in the prior art describe means to limit the range of mobility of an animal relative to a given reference point such as the owner of an animal or an individual walking, for example, a dog. Typical prior art harnesses or leashes may be as simple as a collar with loop devices or other affixing means to attach a rope or other type of leash to the collar to hold back an animal being walked or to otherwise temporarily restrain the animal around a tree or post. There have been slip-in choke collars known to those skilled in this art which are thought by many to be less satisfactory and sometimes an inhumane means for restraining an animal.
Likewise, various sophisticated but complex mechanisms have been devised which wrap the torso of a four-legged animal, more particularly a canine. Typical harnesses wrap around the torso of the animal to provide an even distribution of the restraint around the neck of the dog as well as the torso of the dog by harnessing a larger part of the body of the animal with adjustable belts and collars which must be fitted to the animal. Animal restraints are sometimes comprised of various separate lengths of flexible belting, cables or ropes which can be in any number of various forms, including nylon webbing, leather strapping or the like.
In prior art restraints which use metal rings, at least one of the metal rings is employed as a joint to join several lengths of belting or straps to one another to form a leash and can include metal buckles, springs, automatic deployment and spring loaded retrieval mechanisms and other improvements provided over the years. However, in a simplest form, an animal restraint has typically been a rope tied around the animal, typically the animal's neck and/or torso in a fashion to crudely restrain the animal when a more sophisticated multi-part harness, chain, leash or other apparatus is not available or is otherwise unsatisfactory. Such methods are crude at best and do not provide for the freedom or comfort of the animal while providing an effective or attractive leash mechanism.
A simpler, single rope device is necessary and desirable along with a method of restraining an animal which uses a single piece of rope and allows for the comfort of the animal, room for the animal to move and provides safety for both the animal being restrained and the animal handler holding the end of the rope or leash mechanism.